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Thursday, October 16, 2014

Old Clothes, New Life

I suck at bathroom selfies, but I love my Splendid dress!

Every time I have a baby I get the urge to clean out my closet. It begins with a compulsion to cast out every single piece of maternity clothing that ever touched my body over the past nine months, and ends with me standing in front of a row of empty hangers sobbing about how I have nothing to wear. I suspect that it has to do with the crazy postpartum hormones combined with the fact that none of my pre baby clothes ever fit my post baby figure, but whatever the case it's truly a sight to behold to walk into my bedroom and find me sitting in a pile of clothing, crying. Dramatic, much?

After I gave birth to the Muffin Man I spent an entire day going through all the closets in my house and getting rid of any item of clothing I found offensive, including old coats from 15 years ago, dowdy skirts, torn t-shirts and ill-fitting blazers left over from my (failed) former career. I must have filled up at least 10 bags and hauled them to the Goodwill.

I love donating to good causes; in fact, I highly recommend it. But if the urge strikes you to get rid of every single piece of clothing you own and you don't have the budget to purchase an entirely new wardrobe for yourself, it can be a problem. Unless, of course, you live at, or are planning to relocate to, a nudist colony. Since I have no plans to bare my private parts to anyone other than my spouse (and, unintentionally, the drug dealer at the park), I needed to find a way to satisfy my urge to purge while simultaneously refilling my closet with unoffensive clothing.

I'm not exactly sure how I found this wonderful service, but I can tell you this: I am OBSESSED. They send you a giant polka dot bag, you fill it with all the clothing you no longer want, send it back to them, and then they sort through everything and either purchase it from you outright, take it on consignment, or donate whatever doesn't make the final cut to a worthy cause. Once they've totaled up your items you can either ask them to send you a check, or you can use your newfound wealth to purchase items from the Thred Up site. I personally always choose the second option for several reasons:

1. I don't have time to shop. Unless Bloomingdale's has changed their store hours and now stays open until midnight, the chances of my finding time to drive there, park, pick out clothes and try them on during daylight hours is slim to none.

2. The stuff for sale on Thred Up is really good stuff. Like things I could never afford were I to purchase them new, but that are in excellent condition and completely affordable because they are gently used.

3. I can try on my purchases at home and send back whatever doesn't fit free of charge. I literally just hand the box to my postal carrier and once Thred Up receives the returns they credit my account.

4. Kids clothes! I've gotten really cute stuff for Noah and all are brands that I would never shell out for normally because I refuse to spend $40 on a t-shirt that my toddler is going to inevitably get paint on.

So far, in exchange for a bag full of maternity clothes that I NEVER WANT TO SEE AGAIN, I have gotten:

Paper, Denim & Cloth shorts

Splendid t-shirt

Splendid dress

Petit Bateau shirt for Noah

Guess heels

and I still have $36 left to spend!

I guess this means that I won't have to move to a nudist colony after all. Thank goodness, because the people who live in those places never seem to be individuals I'd actually want to see naked.

This is totally not a sponsored post. I just like to let you know when I discover nifty stuff that makes life easier & more stylish.